Defense, Aggression, and Pogos as Prey
Wrestling and stinging
ants, lunch for spiders, and territorial wars. Pogonomyrmex spp.
ants at various locations in North America.
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Pogonomyrmex salinus
● Wanapum Rec. Area [Kittitas Co], WA USA [el. 190 m / 623 ft] view location in Google Maps » ● 5/10/09 11:56AM sunny, air temp: 22°C / 72°F
More combat between Pogonomyrmex salinus workers. As in the previous image (from a different location on the same day), these battling ants did not appear to sting each other, and no limbs were severed (although one of the workers was missing part of a leg - presumably from an earlier confrontation). After approx. 5 minutes, the ants went their separate ways. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
So far, we have seen few examples of intraspecific (involving members of the same species) combat occurring among P. salinus ants in the Pacific Northwest. For Pogos generally, these types of aggressive interactions usually take place when the foraging areas of neighboring colonies overlap, and individual foraging workers from the respective nests come into contact with one another. Established 'trunk-trails', and other habitual foraging routes that emanate from individual nest mounds, seem to be oriented to minimize contact (and therefore potentially aggressive interactions) between foraging workers from neighboring colonies in areas of high nest density. One study in southeast Idaho found that the foraging ranges of P. salinus seldom overlapped, nevertheless, these interactions do sometimes occur.
As we have observed, two P. salinus workers will occasionally engage in combat. Instances of this that we have witnessed, involved a sort of 'wrestling' - and both ants left apparently unharmed after disengagement (note: all examples witnessed by us have been in spring).
We have seen evidence after the fact, however, that these encounters sometimes result in fatalities, including a P. salinus worker with the head capsule of a conspecific still attached to its body, also, we have seen (and imaged) detached P. salinus head capsules in areas where we have previously, or subsequently observed these ants fighting. We often see (and image) P. salinus workers with partially missing/severed limbs - possibly as the result of intraspecific combat.
·Hölldobler, B.1974. Home Range Orientation and Territoriality in Harvesting Ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Vol. 71, No. 8, pp. 3274-3277, August 1974
·Hölldobler, B. & E.O. Wilson.1990. The Ants. Cambridge, MA, Belknap/Harvard Press
·Johnson, R.A. 2000. Seed Harvesting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of North America: An Overview of Ecology and Biogeography. Sociobiology Vol.36, No. 1, 2000
·Jorgensen C.D. & Porter, S.D. 1982. Foraging Behavior of Pogonomyrmex Owyheei in Southest Idaho. Environmental Entomology, Vol. 11, No. 2, April 1982
pogopogonomyrmexpogonomyrmex salinusantspreydefensemacroharvester ants
